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We’re moving to Paris…tomorrow!

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Yup, that’s right, we’re packing up shop and moving over to the land of chocolate macaroons!  Actually, rather, we’ve already packed up shop – over three weeks ago.  The stuff is slowly plodding it’s way across the Atlantic (just off the coast of Newfoundland as of tonight). 

But we move tomorrow!  And by move, I mean, get on the plane for good.  At 5:14PM on Wednesday we’ll push back from the gate on our final flight from DC over to Paris.

(Side note: Before I go too far, we both want to thank everyone for the constant stream of sometimes hilarious guesses that you submitted over the weekend – nearly 150 in total!  In particular, the significant contingent of you (basically, all of you) that very dearly want a little Rainmaker.  Eventually there will be, but for now, we just want to enjoy our time and flexibility in Europe.  I am impressed that two people nailed it spot-on – well done!)

Some of you may have wondered why I was doing so many back to back trips with The Girl to Paris over the past month. Of course, with my usual travel schedule, it may not have seemed too out of the ordinary.  Over the past two months we’ve been busy working through all the logistics of moving nearly 4,000 miles away – from house hunting to visa’s to packing to tax stuff.  Busy bees!

That’s why things back in late May and early June may have been a bit lighter posting-wise.  In addition to my regular work in DC (and work travel), we were also trying to pack up the house, get it ready to put on the market as a rental, find a house in Paris, sell off lots of unnecessary stuff, and a million other items.  Oh, and try and blog daily.  Craziness I tell you, craziness.

At this point, you’ve probably got a million questions – which, is pretty logical.  First, below, is a bunch of questions that our close friends and family have asked, so it made sense to consolidate them here as well.  Then, in addition to that, we’ll be debuting a sub-blog here on the site in the coming weeks.  Those posts won’t make it into your regular (current) RSS feed by default.  It’s all about living in Paris, from the whole initial move process to day to day life.  The posts will likely be a little bit shorter than here, but probably a bit more fun sometimes.  We’ve been crazy documenting everything over the last three months from getting the house ready, to house hunting (and the midnight Paris café apartment elimination debates), to the visa process (long).  Again, that’ll be debuting here with the new blog layout hopefully in the next 1-2 weeks.

So with that – off to the questions!

Are you moving on your own, or being relocated?

We’re being relocated.  An opportunity came up with work, and I jumped on it.  We’d been looking for over a year for the right opportunity, and it finally popped up.  I stay with same organization, I just move across the pond.  As is typical in relos, they basically help us out a ton with all sorts of stuff from movers to house-hunter people to learning the language.

P1030688Do you speak French?

Not exactly.  But, me and Rosetta Stone have become bestest of friends lately.  Regrettably the little bit of Japanese I speak is doing me absolutely no good in France.  (Side note: Rosetta Stone is really darn expensive I found out!)

In addition, once we settle in we’ll be getting more formal “language assistance”.  And in case you’re curious, The Girl speaks some very basic French from her days growing up in Canada where it was a required class, but it’s mostly limited to ordering chocolate croissants.

How did you choose Paris?

This was tough!  The job position allowed us to basically live wherever we wanted within Europe/Middle East/Africa, as long as I could get on an airplane quickly to major international cities in those regions – we were good.  We narrowed it down to a few countries and cities, but in the end it came down to Paris (France) and Cape Town (South Africa) – though Zurich was also in the running.  While we absolutely love South Africa, we felt that Paris provided a great opportunity to see not only Paris, but also the rest of Europe, due to being easily accessible via train (and plane).

Oh, and did I mention I get 47+ days of vacation per year (it’s the way it works in France!). Plus nights and weekends!  I could spend vacation days just trying to figure out how to spend vacation days.

The job involves a fair bit of travel all over Africa, the Middle East and Europe (typically known as EMEA), and of course many visits back to the US – so we’ll still get to see tons of the world.

Wait, does that mean it becomes ParisRainmaker.com?

Funny, when I selected the blog name nearly 5 years ago, I certainly didn’t think it would ever be visited by more than six people.  Thus, I didn’t think to consider future moves of my location (despite the fact that I certainly was considering moving overseas at some point).

At this point, the domain name ‘rainmaker.com’ is already taken, so dcrainmaker.com will definitely stick around for eternity!

Does anything change here on the blog?  Are you still going to review products?

Not much changes.  Instead of hearing about my runs on the National Mall, you’ll have to hear about running past the Eiffel Tower.

Product reviews work out the same, and I’ve got a mail forwarding service in place to quickly get products from the US to Paris in the matter of a day or two (though most companies will direct-ship to me in France).  In fact, most of the cycling products I review are usually shipped from Europe to the US, so it’s probably a wash now.

Folks in the industry that have sent products previously will all receive an e-mail later today with our updated shipping information.  If you don’t and have mailed me stuff previously, please shoot me back an e-mail so I can ensure you’ve got the right address!

What about your DC and US readers?!?

You guys are the base of everything I started off with – so I definitely appreciate everything you’ve done for me, especially those that have been here since the very very very beginning (you know who you are).  Yet, I think US readers will still enjoy everything I’m writing about – since for the most part the content won’t change – same-same, but different.

What may come as a surprise to some, is that today my readership is actually almost perfectly split between US and international, with the vast majority of the international readers being in Europe.  Funny how that works, ehh?

Does this change anything with supporting the site?

Nope, Amazon will take your money regardless of where I am, and it still supports the site (like the big giveaway last week).  No worries there!  And yup, all the same links for all the other Amazon countries still work as well: UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.

Where are you living?

Right in the heart of Paris.  We’ve already selected a location, and tomorrow morning we’ll land and go to our new home.  We toured over a dozen apartments in the city, all of which we’ve got well documented coming up in posts on the Paris sub-blog.  Think of it like House Hunters International: DC Rainmaker Edition, which, is actually pretty much what it was like.

Why a new Paris sub-blog instead of just posting it like normal?

Simply put, we don’t want to overwhelm everyone.  Or rather, overwhelm the folks here that are primarily here for swim/bike/run/technology.  Since you’ll be able to easily just subscribe in one shot to all of it, it makes it simple for that that still want everything.

And – of significant importance is that it’ll be more of a ‘we’ blog than just a ‘me’ blog.  By we, I mean The Girl and I.  We’ll both be contributing to it.

Additionally, over time I think there’s lots of coolness associated with the city that we can talk about in our typically unique way.  As I noted earlier, it’ll be shorter posts – just more snippets of our daily life.

That doesn’t change much on the blog here though.  You’ll still get Paris sports stuff – like the usual weekend roundups, and day to day training.  The other side will be less training, more Paris and us.  Make sense?

Good, it’s coming soon – likely within a week or two as I cutover to the new blog platform.

What happens to The Girl and Bertie’s Bakery?

Well, The Girl is of course part of this package.  But for her bakery, you’ll have to swing over to her little place and get all the details.

Are you going to be racing just European races now?

It’ll likely still be a mix to be honest.  I’ve got a ton of travel and will as usual likely tie in races to other trips I have.  Sometimes those will be overseas, and sometimes US.

Are you going to the Tour de France?

Indeed, this weekend!  Our current plan includes a brief trip to see the Prologue (Individual Time Trial) and Stage 1 this upcoming weekend.  Since I won’t be there later in July to see the finish in town (seriously bummed about that!).  So, if you’re around at either of those two stages this weekend – give me a shout!

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(Thanks Rob for the above – ready to use both starting Thursday!)

Are you racing the Paris Triathlon in a few weeks?

I really had wanted to – really really badly!  But, it turns out it conflicted with previously established plans for being in a wedding back in the states.  No worries, I’ll definitely be there (or rather here) next…year!

Of course, if you’re a local and have race suggestions for the fall – we’re definitely all ears! (Running or triathlon)

How long are you staying?

We don’t have a defined timeframe.  The way it works is I move one-way to this position, and when I want to return, I find a different opportunity (in the states or elsewhere) and move back.  At the moment we’re thinking about 3 years, maybe more, but we don’t have a set timetable in any way.  For all we know, we could be there for 50 years eating Nutella crepes.

Does this mean you’re coming to Eurobike in August!?!?

Darn straight it does!  Though, I haven’t actually thought that far ahead schedule-wise (you should have seen the messiness that the schedule looked like for the past, present and next month).

And, at present, I plan to be at Interbike too like usual (just registered this past weekend).  But of course, various work trips could interrupt both of those.  Thankfully, Eurobike splices over a weekend.

Thanks for reading!

As always, a huge thanks for reading.  I’ve got a ton of exciting stuff planned, and I think you’ll enjoy getting not only the same stuff you’ve been reading – but also exposure to a whole new side of the world.

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165 Comments

  1. Thats cool! Even if Paris is still far away from me, the chance to meet you somewhere in the future is much better.

    You both are very welcome 🙂

    Daniel

  2. Rogerio Tadeu

    Congrats, dude! Keep pushing!

  3. Good luck !. Hope you enjoy your time in Europe.

  4. jefi

    Herzlich Willkommen in Europa!
    Bienvenue a l’Europe!

    Greetings from Germany.

    Jens

  5. Ian

    Congratulations. I moved from the UK to Australia for two years, 4 1/2 years ago!

  6. Oh man! Too bad you did not choose Cape Town, I am currently re-located in Johannesburg, after being living in Dubai. Being Spaniard and married to an american, I understand pretty well why you have chosen Paris!

  7. Wow, that’s a great change !!!

    Do you want to come and join a bunch of French runners and triathletes bloggers in a restaurant on this Thursday ?

    We are meeting in a restaurant a 20h30 😀
    And you already met Sebastien Romaire during your bike trip in Chevreuse 🙂

    link to facebook.com

    Welcome to Paris !

  8. Ray, congrats on the move to the city of light. I have been living here for the last 20 years and doing tri for ten.

    I am sure you will be crazy busy settling in. But if you need some resources for training please let me know.

    You might want to consider joining a tri club (Largardere or Stade Francais) in order to get a French tri license (good for and required for all races in Europe) and access to pool time( you have no idea how chaotic open swimming can be!) Though if you venture in that direction, the outdoor pool on the Ile de Puteaux is great, at least for the setting

    There are also some exceptional spots for riding – Chevruse Valley and Fontainebleu for starts. If riding in town, every goes to the Hippodrome de Longchamps for the 3.5km loop that is closed to traffic (or nearly so).

    Have fun!

  9. Ray, you should check out our international triathlon club in Paris. The expaTRIés. A bunch of cool athletes from all other the world.
    Welcome to Paris!
    Cheers
    C

  10. The big advantage of living in Europe is that there are littarely no boundaries. Free mouvement of goods and persons.; if you want to leave for Belgium, you just take the TGV (fast train) and 1h30 later you’re in the capital of Europe and one hour later you’re in London! And of course France itself is very nice as is Italy.

    Some Belgiumbiking tips, since you like the climbingwork: The Wall in Huy (tried it myself this weekend… and died 🙂 link to en.wikipedia.org or The Wall in Geraardsbergen link to en.wikipedia.org

  11. Swim N Bike.

    Salut!

  12. Great stuff man, and good luck with all the logistics of the move. I am moving from London to cape Town so I guess I would have loved it for you to have chosen Cape Town over Paris, but It’s still a great choice nonetheless.

  13. Lieven

    Welcome to Europe! You’ll like it here. Don’t forget to spend a few of your (too) many vacation days on Belgian cycling roads, it’s worth the 90 minutes train trip!

  14. Welcome to Europe – shout if you’re ever in the UK and want owt.

  15. Sebastien

    Hy Ray
    I live in the south of paris Breuillet (Essone) , in the contry side (1H from paris center in RER C), If you whant to have a ride (Road or MTB), i realy be happy to have it with Both of You 🙂

    see you soon in France 😉

  16. What a surprise. Reading your blog quite a while, but didn’t commented a lot.
    I’ll be present at the “depart du Tour” on Saturday.

    Grtz,
    David

  17. Good luck for your new life here in Europe. So maybe there will be the occasion to come to Rome. I will be happy to meet you!

  18. Welcome to Europe from NL! I’ll be happy to drive those 4 hs yet again for a readers’
    Meet-up!
    In terms of cities: always go to the light!
    Good luck,

    Marcos

  19. That is indeed awesome news! For us European readers anyway. 😉

    Hope you’ll feel at home in Paris.

    Cheers from Les Pays-Bas.

  20. Good Luck Ray.
    Paris is a wonderful and beautiful city (despite cities ain’t beautiful at all).
    Hope you enjoy your french time.

  21. Erwan

    Congrats! Expatriation is such a great experience! I have been moving from France to Romania few years ago and I’m still apreciating this experience everyday…
    So, Bienvenue en France!!!

  22. Hi,
    What a change ! I hope french people will be friendly with you. If you want to chat with folks in love with running I suggest you, as Djailla said, to come at the Pasta Party (link to facebook.com) which will be held downtown Paris.
    For fall race, I suggest you to run “Paris-Versailles”. It starts in front of the Eiffel Tower and ends close to Versailles Castle (10miles).

  23. oh yeah! now that you are in the old europe, and in france, you should not forget to visit brittany, just few hours by train going west… you’ll feel closer to home (about 400km at least! ;-)) and you’ll find very good niche to run, swim and bike. Remember to visit Mt St Michel too!! (and if you need an almost local guide…)

  24. Welcome to Europe!

    If you ever wish to visit Italy contact me, will be glad to help you visit Torino and plan all other visits to other beautiful cities 🙂

    Enjoy!
    Marcello

  25. oh, congratulations! great move, Paris is lovely if you make an effort with the language, and very well connected to other locations.

  26. Welcome to Europe!

  27. Cool! Wish you have a great life in Paris!
    Looking forward about posts of Tour de France!

  28. mcb

    Best of luck! I look forward to reading about your new adventures!

  29. Justin

    Congratulations on the move, you’re going to have a blast. I moved to 3 different countries from the UK (Holland, USA, Brunei) and although there were problems with each, we had a fantastic time and would do it again in a heartbeat, though it’s less likely now that I’m settled in the UK once again.

    Happy trails.

  30. Tom

    Glad to see you coming to france, I hope I’ll see you in a transition area soon 🙂
    Welcome to France

  31. Well, not what I expected.
    Welcome to Europe, I am Italian and if you were wondering which races are worth a trip to Italy I would say the Marathon of Venice in October, the Marathon of Florence in November and lastly, the Marathon of Rome (my city) in march 2013.

    See you around

  32. Awesome Rainmaker…big step!

    If you ever come near Chamonix in the Alps let me know as you have a follower to show you the trails…

    Rich

  33. Lisa A

    Great news – I’m very excited for you both!

  34. How exciting! From someone in the same “organisation” (please note the correct spelling now that you’re European 😉 ) – welcome to Europe!!

    I’m working through some half IM’s in the UK this year and intend entering IM Austria next year. Nice flat course for you to set a decent PB…..

    Enjoy yourselves.

  35. welcome to the ‘old’ world 🙂

    I discovered your site while looking for info on buying a new watch, and it was really helpful.

    If you want some tips and info on cycling or running in belgium just say so.
    I live in brussels (which is the already mentioned 1h30 train ride away) and can even give you (and the girl) a tour if you like.

    regards from a trail runner who likes to bike from time to time.

  36. Welcome to Europe
    I lived and studied in Paris in 1996-97 and it was one of the best periods of my life.
    As you are now in Europe I encourage you to visit Poland as well. You have here a lot of readers.

  37. Anonymous

    Welcome in Europe!
    I love Paris very much, too.

    Marco from Germany
    (2 1/2 h from Paris with the TGV :-))

  38. Good for you both! Way to listen to your hearts and brains and make the most of the opportunities!

    We move from the DC area to Utah on Saturday (once we drive back from TX) for 2 years. Hub then wants to do his PhD overseas.

    His plan was South Africa and Cape Town looked like a real option (he spent 2 years there and is fluent in Afrikaans), yet… the tides have turned and Amsterdam/Scotland/Other are looking to take the lead.

    Only life will tell. Until then we’ll enjoy 2 years of canyon riding and hiking/running and OWS swims that far exceed the NoVa/DC area.

    Take care and know that you are supported!

  39. Huge congrats on the move and thanks for all the work you do for us. You occupy a space on the net that others try, but you have perfected.

    Looking forward to the Paris reports.

  40. Jeff

    welcome 🙂

  41. wow. what a terrific adventure. i only discovered you yesterday, after spending the weeks since mother’s day wondering why i wanted such an expensive midlife crisis gift as the 910x garmin. looks like you may actually be able to explain what my new toy will do for me!!!! thank you!!!! your blog is brilliant!!! i’ll be back for more!!!

  42. Great stuff
    I love paris a lot i lived there five year till i moved with my compny to brazil and last year colombia, its a exciting expirence.
    One question how do you know where exactly is your household diid you placed a GPS in it?
    Which one?

  43. Kim

    So exciting ray and bertie! Congrats on this wonderful opportunity! I remember reading your blog years ago when you first started out…love the years of growth and new opportunities…looking forward to reading all about your paris adventures.

  44. good luck and congratulations on the move.

  45. JC

    “(just off the coast of Newfoundland)”…

    Let me guess – you stashed a slew of GPS tracking devices in the container 🙂

    Good luck!

  46. Congrats to you both. This is going to be a great adventure. Living in the DC area I regret never having bumped into you. All the best on your move. Can’t wait for the stories and the reviews.

  47. This comment has been removed by the author.

  48. Big CONGRATULATIONS Ray. Big move and will certainly be a great next chapter for you and the girl!

  49. I WAS RIGHT! I WAS RIGHT!

    If you don’t follow David Lebovitz’s blog already, you need to start.

  50. elwood

    Where do we send our welcome presents?

    signed: not a stalker

  51. Have the most amazing time!!! I’ll be following along from SoCal. Best wishes.

  52. CONGRATS! GREAT OPPORTUNITY!

    I’m very jealous! I look forward to reading about the adventure!

    I also think you picked a great city, I might have leaned towards a costal city in Spain, but who knows. One of the two would have been my top.

  53. Wonderful! And I feel certain that there will be spectacular opportunities for pastry-related education and creation for The Girl!

  54. Congrats Raymakers, it’ has been awesome reading your adventures for the past several years..here’s to many more!

  55. Congrats for you both.
    And my guess over the last weeks was London ….. mainly because of the language (and their train/ flight connection to Paris/US)

  56. Wow Ray. This is a huge change, seems like it could be very exciting. Best of luck and I look forward to reading your Euro-posts.

  57. congrats! have a blast! 🙂

  58. Paul

    Congratulations! I’m excited for you guys and looking forward to reading about your new adventures! Having just returned from vacation in Paris, I have to admit I’m a little jealous 😉

  59. What a great experience! And doing it now with an open-ended date for returning to the USA or moving to SE Asia or somewhere else is also a fine choice!

    Good luck and will continue to look for dcrainmaker to continue to grow (and the Paris sub-blog)!!

  60. Congratulations – that sounds like fun. Allow me to add a recommendation for one of my favorite, least likely Parisian restaurants: Anahuacallimore. Its some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had (and I live in Austin, TX, where its as common as crepes are over there). Check it out sometime if you wish – you may want reservations though. Don’t miss the hot chocolate.

    30 Rue des Bernardins
    75005 Paris, France

  61. Very good choice Ray. If you ever pass by Denfer-Rocheraux, Chamonix or Dubai let me know. I have always some free time available for a ride or a run.
    And don’t forget: the French Alps are a must see ( or should I say must ride ).
    See you around. Oli.

  62. It’s a good thing they let you take The Girl with you. That would have been an awkward conversation…Congrats and good luck!

  63. Congrats to you!
    I know you”ll enjoy Europe to the fullest.

    when I Die, I want to come back as a (DC rainmaker ) lol, hopefully we shall meet on one of your visits back to ” da Rock”.

  64. Crazy, have fun and eat lots of those french hot dogs on a baguette that you get from the street carts.

  65. Daniela

    WorldRainmaker and TheGirl, congrats on your new adventure! Can’t wait to read about your race recaps european style. Have fun!

  66. sorry for englich only readers… 😉

    Mais pas de temps à perdre pour commencer à pratiquer le français alors 😉

    j’ai vu que mes collègues de la runnosphère on déjà lancé l’invitation pour la PRP (pasta running party.
    Ce sera une excellente première soirée parisienne.

    Bienvenue à Paris !

  67. Congratulatons to you both!!! What a wonderful experience you will have! Paris is the BEST 🙂

  68. Congratulations! Sounds like a fantastic opportunity. Wish you all the best with the move and the adjustments to your new life!

  69. Anonymous

    i am insanely jealous. i had scoped out flats in england to have the opportunity to see all of europe with ease.. however it didn’t work out for me.. i’m glad you get the opportunity!!!

  70. Welcome to Europe
    Bienvenido a Europa

    Hope to see you in Spain soon.

    Adios!

  71. So exciting!! Can’t wait to read all of the adventures on the sub blog. Cheers to both of you.

  72. Huge congrats to you both!

  73. Ciao Ray, welcome to Old Europe.
    i strongly suggest you the most beautiful marathon in the world
    the Amalfitana Sorrentina Coast to Coast Marathon
    link to maratonacoasttocoast.com on the second part of the month of december

  74. Anonymous

    Good for you !
    Enjoy our country and have fun !
    We don’t eat frogs and snails that often. When did I last eat this??
    Stay as you are.

  75. It’s an opportunity one musn’t miss, so well done! It’ll be educating.

    If I ever see someone swooshing past me in a race, wearing 3 or more watches on his wrist – it’s got to be you then! 😉

    Your blog is one of the best on the web, please keep it going!

  76. Awesome. Really pleased for you both

  77. My fiancee and I had a very similar opportunity in 2010 to move to Brussels. By far the best decision we ever made! So excited for you and be sure to look into some of the TriStar race series as they are a great way to travel and race at the same time. I did the Alpe D’ Huez race which was super!

  78. …by the way, as I’m sure you’re already aware, there’s some epic bureaucracy to swim through with an international move like this 🙂 Once its done though, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the work-life balance. Congrats!

  79. AW9

    Hey,

    You mention using Rosetta to learn French.
    I too have tried Rosetta, but then found ‘Pimsleur’

    Where Rosetta teaches you lots of random words, Pimsleur teaches you useful sentences.

    I found it far more useful than Rosetta.

    Again like Rosetta, it isn’t cheap.

    link to pimsleur.com

    Good luck with the move.

  80. Martin

    Good luck with the move Ray. I’m one of your very regular readers from Scotland so maybe you’ll take a trip over our way sometime.

    Cheers

  81. Bon chance à Ray et La Fille en la France!

  82. Exciting news! Sounds like a great adventure. I’m heading to Paris for a visit in August. Maybe you’ll have posted some reviews on great restaurants, etc by then!

  83. Wow.. Very cool. You will be able to see the TDF in person. Hope you get to experience as much as I did when I lived in Europe for 4 years. Travel/Travel/Travel. Everything is close. 2 hours and you are in a whole different world. Good luck and have lots of fun…

  84. Thats only 2h flight from Prague ;-)). Let me know when u come!!

    Jan
    Czech Republic

  85. Anonymous

    Congrats on the big move!

    I still think you should get the girl a bunny 🙂

  86. Bienvenue en France !
    If you need some advice about French living, don’t hesitate !

  87. mattia

    International reader here (from Italy) and long time fan. Congrats for your new adventure(s)! I’ll keep on reading, that’s for sure: doesn’t matter where you’re, I know you’ll keep up the good stuff 🙂

  88. Welcome to Europe. Make sure you visit the Netherlands. Always nice 😉

  89. awesome…so you can finally ride all the cycling classics…triathlons aren’t around so much as in the states but cycling and running events are uncountable around these parts. In france alone there are over 10,000 km of mountain stage roads for your harts content.
    welcome and enjoy la douce france.
    oh and don’t forget to visit the other 49 european countries within an hour flight range.

  90. Eri

    Hi!
    Congratulations on your move! Good luck and bon voyage!

  91. WOW. It’s hard to believe!! Best of luck to you and enjoy all of your adventures!! It sounds like a perfect opportunity for you.

  92. Awesome news for you and the girl. Enjoy! So she’ll be getting a parisienne bunny. Nice. 🙂

  93. Great having you in Europe. Welcome to real triathlons – with crowds! 🙂

  94. Wow! very exciting. I can’t wait to see what triathlons in Europe are all about. Have fun you two.

  95. Excellent! Welcome in Europe!

    I just moved to Paris two weeks ago, and i’m keen in running around Champ de Mars. Nevertheless, Paris nice for running early in the morning, especially on sundays. There is no one on the streets!

    Just beware. Get your medical certificate, that says you are able to participate in running (and in other cases cycling and triathlon competitions). Without that you are not able to participate in any competition, as the certificate is obligatory by law. Same is also obligatory in Italy, not in UK or Germany!

  96. Ok…. We are in Lugano, Switzerland and relocating to Bangkok, Thailand (!!!) next week…. But I like Paris better… Good luck!

  97. Holy cow, now that is BIG news! Congrats, and wishing you smooth sailing…er…flying tomorrow and beyond.

  98. Anonymous

    Best of luck for you two…cant wait wait till I read your blogging about riding in the French’s Cols!!

  99. Welcome into Europe!

    Check this out: link to ironbask.fr

    And if you are ever around the Basque Country (which it is a must for you now) I will happy to ride you around.

    Enjoy

  100. Ray & Bertie – enjoy the adventure, a great experience to share and put on your CV. We made the move from London to NYC to Raleigh and still exploring….

    Through all your travels I wish you a peaceful journey.

  101. Congrats! I wish I had the guts to pick up and move!

  102. Congratulations! I hope you enjoy it, moving overseas is a great experience! Long ago I left for a short (1 year) expat assignment and ended up living overseas for seven, then I relocated on my own to the US. It’s amazing how living in different places expands your views.

    Well, I said “relocation overseas” so… what did I win? 😉

  103. Félicitation Ray!!!,
    J’ai hâte à la première chronique en français.

  104. Mary

    Did you rent your townhouse? Awesome place, awesome news!

  105. Best of luck on your new adventure!

  106. Congratulations!! Good luck in Europe!

  107. Good luck with the move! Hope everything goes well!

  108. Ron

    We’ll miss you Ray!

  109. Ron

    We’ll miss you Ray! Especially us here in DC!

  110. Anonymous

    Congrats on the move. will you still stick with the same coach?

  111. well this is a big surprise. congratulations on your relocation (is this the right term??) will still be reading your blog everyday (unless you change your posts to french) good luck on your new adventure in Paris Ray

  112. Bon Voyage Amigo! Really enjoy your blog and reviews. Keep me coming and enjoy your journey.

  113. Wow, Congratulations

  114. WOW!!! Great! welcome to Europe!!

  115. Wow – your moving news is very, very cool. As always I will be looking forward to following your exploits, wherever they may be!

  116. Great news Ray! Congratulations to the both of you.

    I just realized that this means I may get the chance to race you somewhere 😉 The past weekend there was the “Dutch Mountains Challenge Triathlon” Stein in the Netherlands, which was really cool – so maybe next year!

    I’ve been dreaming years of participation in the Triathlon d’Alpe d’Huez or the Ebrunman, both triathlons in France, so if you wanna put your altimeters to a good use, THAT would be the place. Oh and did I mention the Marmotte? Great cycling event in the Alpes consisting of 180 km and 5000 meters elevation gain – since you’re moving to MY continent you better learn to think in metric so I;m not gonna do the math for you 😉

  117. if you pass through Pau (south west) and wanna run to the mountain (i’m just a runner, sorry), do not hesitate to contact me 😉

    very nice to have you here in france by the way.

  118. Anonymous

    You must visit Zarautz (Basque Country, north Spain) next year. We hace an international triathlon link to zarauzkotriatloia.com. Also in 27th July there is LD World Championship in Vitoria/Gasteiz (Basque Country) Eneko Llanos’ native town.
    Good luck!

  119. Really awesome news Ray! I’m already looking forward to hearing all about your coming European adventures. “Tour de France!” was the first thing that popped in my head when I saw the news, glad to hear you’ve already made plans for it.

  120. You have opted to move to the best place. Have a great journey and move carefully with your luggage.

  121. Welcome in Europe, if passing Denmark and want a scenic ride around Copenhagen you just call 🙂

  122. Why Tri or running only? September 2nd, you can try a 10 kms swim down the Seine river : link to parisalanage.com

  123. Welcome in good old Europe!

    With being not far away from germany and all these Garmin devices you have tested you should think about starting at the wonderful Garmin-Alpen-Triathlon one week after Eurobike.

    link to garmin-alpen-triathlon.de

    Enjoy Tour de France!

    Volker

  124. I wonder if the move across the pond will improve my chanties of winning anything….

    congrads!

  125. Anonymous

    DC’s favorite son is gone, but we still have your domain name! Enjoy and hope to see you back at a local race some time soon.

  126. Ken Daullary

    Awesome for the both of you! Glad you guys can experience the the world the way you want to. A bit jealous of you guys especially getting to see the prolog.
    Good luck with everything. And I look forward to hearing about your Paris adventures along with all the usual tri goodness.
    Take care and good luck!!

  127. Good luck!
    I moved to paris five years ago from new york and even if now in Zurich, I never looked back. Curiosity got the best of me, sure you guys will love it too.

  128. Julien

    Ray, Bertie, congratulations for your moving!

    Being French, I am thrilled that you picked Paris over such a tough competition.
    I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay there, French people are not as bad as their reputation goes 🙂
    For a great view over Paris, try the Parc de Belleville on a sunny evening. And don’t forget a stroll along the Canal Saint Martin.

    Bienvenue en France!

    Julien

  129. My wife and I had the chance to move to Sydney after our first year of marriage – a decade later we look back and kick ourselves for not doing it. Have a blast

  130. I heard that housing is very expensive there. Have you been able to find a reasonable place to stay?

  131. Christophe

    Bienvenue en France Ray, j’espère que tu y trouveras tout l’accueil qu’il fat pour assouvir tes passions du sport !!
    @+

  132. Welcome to Paris, Ray and Bobbie!
    I have been living here for more than 15 tears (I’m originally from Italy) and still finf it a wonderful place!
    If you’re looking for an interesting triathlon in the Paris area in the coming weeks, may I suggest the Chantilly tri?
    It takes place on the Chantilly Castle grounds on August 26th.
    More info here: http://www.castletriathlonseries.co.uk.
    Enjoy!

  133. I’m all for opportunity. Congrats to you both, and look forward to keeping up with your adventures. The Chicago Uranathlon won’t be the same.

  134. Tim

    Welcome to Europe both of you!
    So many GREAT rides to do… French Alps, Pyrenées, Belgian Classics… you won’t have enough time to do them all 🙂
    Anyway, looking forward to hearing about your future adventures & perhaps meet up at some event or other.
    Grtz from Brussels, Belgium

  135. Olivier

    Bienvenue en France! happy to see you coming in our wounderfull country 😉

  136. Welcome to Europe! 😉
    I guess you’ve found out what a number of your readers is actually Europe based.
    Your 45+ days will not be enough, because it seems we all want “a piece of you”!
    I hope it will be a great experience for you both and it’s up to you to enjoy it.
    Keep on with your work ‘cos you are a ray-maker for us!

  137. Cool, Rainmaker. Love that you’re embracing the adventure and thrill of taking on Europe before it collapses in a heap of burned EUR’s. Please visit Greece before the rest of Europe forecloses on it.

  138. Congrats on this awesome opportunity! Looking forward to reading about your Paris adventures!

  139. Great, future crazy giveways in my timezone 🙂

  140. Didi

    link to youtube.com

    “Super Cool” 🙂 …Great opportunity and great fun for the both of you, Europe is glad to have another taxpayer! 🙂 …also for ‘the Girl’; great opportunity to learn more about French and also European pastries…

    Maybe we could see some sort of an ‘American Pastries’ shop in Paris, could be a hit. Since it’s rare

    Best of luck to the both of you

  141. Hi Ray,

    First congrats to both. After some days without reading your reviews (let me say I am addicted) the last post about Paris is far from the literature I expected.

    So wellcome to Europe, if you (you and the girl) plan to visit Barcelona one day don’t forget to comment in advance, now we are “almost neighbours.

  142. Ray, I’m stopping over in Paris for a couple days and will be running at some point, likely early morning tomorrow (Friday June 29). Let me know if you’re due for a run and we can hook up. I think we’re about the same pace (around 7’s or sub). I tend to sightsee while running — best way!

  143. Congratulations! That’s SO exciting! My husband and I had the chance to live in Japan for three years a couple of years back, and we turned it down. But I alway thought it would be very cool to live abroad!

    Sarah
    http://www.thinfluenced.com

  144. Congratulations on the move, and welcome to Paris :))
    If you need some good addresses (food, wine, etc), don’t hesitate. Or if you just want to go for a bike ride with our little crew, same same 🙂

    Have a safe trip, and relax, you’re in France!

  145. Dominik d-r@roettsches.de

    Now that you have plans to visit all over Europe from your new base location I’d be more than happy to shake hands with you and welcome you in Finland – let’s go for some orienteering runs in the woods here. Welcome to old Europe

  146. Good luck both – have fun!

  147. Congratulations, great move.

    If you can get your hands on some Michel Thomas French classes they are very helpful with learning the language

  148. One more thought; if you plan on doing Marathon de Medoc any time, please make it public. I’ve been looking for an excuse to go over there and run/drink for a few years now 🙂

  149. Great stuff to both of you. Can’t wait for the reviews of all the great rides and events. Cookie in OZ.

  150. Brian

    Hey Ray, you moved to Paris just in time to tri out some of the latest fashion over there. Check these out and we expect to see you sporting some of these looks at an upcoming race. I especially like the one with the lobster around the guy’s neck.

    link to projects.accessatlanta.com

  151. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

  152. I’ve been out of the loop for a while. Sad to see you leaving the DC area, but good luck to you and the girl.

  153. Woah, Paris! How did I miss that?

    Anyway, Paris is great and the other wonderful thing: it will be much easier and cheaper for you to explore the rest of Europe. 🙂

  154. Andrea a

    So you can try one of the italian GranFondo like maratona dles dolomites! Hope to met you one day if i’ll come in paris! Congratulations!!!

  155. Hi Ray, great news. I’m located in Stuttgart, longtime triathlete and big fan of your blog. I’m doing Powerman Zofingen on Labor Day weekend, fantastic race, only 2 hours south of here. If you want to take the TGV over to Stuttgart, you’re welcome to crash with us and drive down in our van the afternoon before the race.

  156. Mark

    Hi Ray,

    Welcome to Europe! I’ve been a long time visitor to your site, but never posted.

    not sure if you know, but Roth entry opens up on monday the 16th July if you fancy doing a classic long distance race with a bunch of us in July 2013?

  157. Hey Ray & ‘the girl’, I heard from my folks that you guys got the final stamp of approval so I checked in on your blog. So happy for you guys…I know Melanie and I will at least be readers of your Paris blog:) Enjoy every minute of it. Take Care, Todd

  158. Ray,
    Can definitely echo Marty’s comment. Come on out and hang out in Stuttgart sometime!

    Dan

  159. Khalil

    I lived in Paris for 2 years and now moved to teach in Beirut. If you ever have a visit to Lebanon, feel free to contact me.

  160. hey,
    I think you already know … however yesterday they opened the inscription for the paris marathon. It is a fantastic race…

    think about doing it!

    g

  161. Hello Ray,

    Awesome page and content! Would like to ask you for a solution for missing data when changing say from Suunto to Garmin. In such a case you end up with two data basis but want to really have your whole history goimg from old watch to new, or Say from Garmin Connect to Suunto Movescount. Is there an easy way to do this in a bulk? Also is there a way to do the same to update your Strava?

    Thank you,

    Justus van der Lubbe
    Curaçap

  162. Thanks for sharing with us

  163. Love to know about you experience, super excited to travel so can share my experience too.

  164. I love your experience , Thank you for sharing this one with us.